Opinion: The success of Tour de France Femmes shows now is the right time for a women's Tour

It’s not commonplace in men's sport for athletes to thank the organisers and sponsors for putting on the event in what is an opportunity to show the world what they are capable of. As the dust settles from the inaugural Tour de France avec Zwift (TdFF) – the first ASO have hosted – riders will reflect on what happened across the last eight days, and many have reiterated their thanks for the opportunity to race in a spectacle like the Tour de France.

Ad/> Canyon-SRAM’s Tiffany Cromwell, who has had a long 17-year career in cycling, was one of them, thanking title sponsor Zwift for backing the race and ASO “for giving us a chance,” she says. Tour de France Femmes‘I hope no one replaces her’ — Why Van Vleuten's retirement might be good for cycling9 HOURS AGO “I hope it continues to grow.

It's given us such a huge platform and people have seen what we're capable of — we've raced hard, the terrain has been hard and I think it's given a lot more respect for us as female athletes and to show that we are tough and we can handle whatever is thrown at us and the racing is exciting. “So I just hope this is the beginning, maybe we can increase it to something bigger and hopefully all the other races get as much coverage because we always get some, but not to the level that we have here,” she adds.

It is the beginning of at least four editions backed by Zwift, with a lot more work to do across three more editions to ensure this one – the sixth attempt by various organisers since 1955 of a women’s TdF – is the one that stands the test of time and gains the gravitas that the men’s Tour has as a world-class event after 109 years. Now, in 2022, it seems to be the right time for a women’s Tour.